Managing Family Building Concerns After Cancer
The research explores how young adult breast cancer survivors and their partners manage family building concerns, highlighting the importance of open communication and shared decision-making. Key themes include balancing desires and priorities, emotional support, and the impact of social expectations and limited choices on family planning. The study suggests that counseling focused on these aspects could better support couples in navigating their family building options post-cancer.
College of Health researcher(s)
Abstract
Background
Young adult breast cancer survivors (YABCS) and their partners commonly experience distress related to changes in their family building options.
Objective
To explore how YABCS and their partners appraised and managed family building after cancer to inform approaches to support these couples.
Methods
We conducted separate telephone interviews with 25 YABCS and their male partners. We used thematic analysis to examine individual interviews followed by analysis of responses within and across couples.
Results
Themes were: (1) Purposeful discussion about family building plans with each other; (2) Balancing family building desires and priorities that do not always align; (3) Partners providing emotional and instrumental support for survivors; (4) Working toward finding a solution together; (5) Perception of limited choice; (6) Combination of time in life and cancer circumstance; (7) Access to financial resources and fertility care; and (8) Motherhood self-identity, social expectations, and assumptions.
Conclusions
Open communication facilitated shared appraisal and management of family building plans, which were influenced by both the cancer experience and stage of life. Participants emphasized a lack of choice and autonomy, describing ways that structural factors and social expectations around biological motherhood disrupted family building plans.
Implications for Practice
YABCS couples navigating family building would benefit from counseling focused on communication and consideration of each partner’s priorities based on circumstances, social expectations, and access to resources.
What Is Foundational
Interpersonal, contextual, and structural factors are important considerations when developing strategies to comprehensively support couples navigating the complexities of family building after cancer.